Alfa Romeo Giulietta

Alfa Romeo has done it again. They’ve created another beautiful looking machine. We know that the Giulietta can talk the talk, but can performance, ride comfort and refinement allow the Giulietta to walk the walk? This model has some very stiff competition from the Volkswagen Golf, the Ford Focus, and even the ever-improving SEAT Leon, but when it comes to quality we would have to wonder just how much competition the Giulietta can bring.

Performance

The Alfa Romeo Giulietta comes with a good selection of petrol and diesel engines, all bringing their own output statistics. For those of you who travel a lot in city traffic the choice for you could be the 1.4 Turbo petrol. This brings with it 120 bhp, 0-100km/h in 9.4 seconds, maximum torque of 215Nm at 2,500rpm, and a top speed of 195km/h. If you’re looking for a bit more punch in your petrol engine another option would be to go for the 1.4 Turbo MultiAir engine with an ALFA TCT (Twin Clutch Transmission). This 4-cylinder engine offers 170 bhp, a maximum torque of 250Nm at 2,500rpm, a top speed of 217km/h and 0-100km/h in 7.6 seconds.

For those who have a tendency to do regular long distance driving it might be worth looking at their diesel line-up. Options available include a 1.6 JDTM-2 engine which offers 105 bhp and torque of 320Nm at 1,750rpm. Among the other diesel models there is also a 2.0 JDTM-2 engine with the ALFA TCT installed. This will give you 350Nm at 1,750rpm, 175 bhp, 0-100km/h in 7.8 seconds and a top speed of 219km/h.

Ride & Handling

The Giulietta is not currently perceived as being the smoothest ride in the world. The steering could and should offer more. There are three driving modes available, but they don’t do much in terms of improving the steering.

Refinement

The diesel range is more refined than people would expect, especially if you’re looking at the 1.6 litre model. If you’re looking at the 2.0 litre diesel things might get a bit loud under pressure. The petrol engines seem to be smooth operators, so do the math when you decide to make a purchase to evaluate whether you need a petrol or a diesel.

Quality & Reliability

There are three trim levels available in the Giulietta range; Progression, Distinctive and Exclusive. All three offer an impressive line-up of goodies as standard like DAB Radio, Bluetooth, and USB & Aux-in. They even add in voice commands and an SMS Reader that translates text to speech.

Safety & Security

The Giulietta comes with 6 airbags – two to the front, two to the side and two curtain airbags. ISOFIX attachments are available in all trims as is an anti-lock braking system with electronic brake force distribution. Like most other Alfa Romeo vehicles you will also find anti-skid protection - which corrects your car if it feels that it might go out of control. Hill assist and tyre pressure monitoring also comes as standard.

Space & Practicality

The front cabin of the Giulietta offers plenty of head and shoulder room. The rear of the vehicle has good legroom for those of you who are under six-feet tall, but for taller people both leg and headroom might be a problem.

The boot space would be average for its class and there is a 60:40 split in the seats, so the back seats fold down in parts if extra room is required.